First Extract/Specialty Grain Recipe Advice

I'm getting ready to brew my first extract and specialty grain beer, from a recipe i concocted. As this is my second brew (with the first still in the fermenter) I'd like the opinions of the grizzled veterans on this board. Please take a look at the recipe, and lemme know if it looks okay, or if there are things I should tweak.

Cherry Chocolate Stout
8 lbs American Light Ale LME
.5 lb Chocolate Malt at 165F
2oz Northern Brewer Hops(60 min)
1oz Fuggles (US) (10 min)
2oz Hershey Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (in the last 10 min of the boil)

The cherry will come from priming with 750ml DeKuypers Cherry Brandy (and a enough dextrose to equal 3/4 cup). I've already done the math, and the cherry brandy will not provide enough sugar to equal the 3/4 cup of dextrose.

The ingredients I ordered (and can therefore play with) are:
8lbs Light Ale LME
1lb Chocolate Malt
6oz Northern Brewer
2oz Fuggles
750ml Cherry Brandy
1lb Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
I can potentially order anything else you'd suggest.

Sounds yummy. Curious the input.

Forget about the cocoa powder for sure. I used actual chocolate in a stout once and it was horrible. I would also consider some black patent malt ( 1/2 to one pound) and some crystal malt (1/2 to one pound). The black patent and the crystal are just ideas, nothing I feel to strongly about, but please please trust me on the cocoa powder.

Everything else looks great in my opinion.

joshpooh said:

Forget about the cocoa powder for sure. I used actual chocolate in a stout once and it was horrible.

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I've read multiple places that the fat in actual chocolate is what adds a funky/horrible taste to the beer, but that this is avoided by using cocoa powder, which only has about a gram of fat per oz.

jeysiin said:

I've read multiple places that the fat in actual chocolate is what adds a funky/horrible taste to the beer, but that this is avoided by using cocoa powder, which only has about a gram of fat per oz.

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I did use unsweetened chocolate and not cocoa powder, so it is a possibility, but I beleive the chocolate malt will give you the characteristics you are looking for w/o using cocoa powder or actual chocolate, but its your beer go with your gut that is what is fun about homebrewing you do it how you want. I was just sharing my bad experience.

I used cocoa powder last year for a Chocolate Raspberry Porter and it turned out great. The cocoa makes a bit of a mess, but other than that you should have no issues using it.

Your recipe looks right on target to me as well.

I might throw a 1/4 pound of black patent or roasted barley in there and maybe try for some cocoa nibs in the secondary if you're really looking for some chocolate taste.